Demystifying The Myth III
On the road to change, awareness is the first step. We are now more familiar with the prejudices against mental illness in the workplace. However, more than awareness, an actionable guide that puts into practice the knowledge available in internal human resource manuals and labour laws provided by the UNHCR, the Employment Act and the Persons with Disability acts.
Renewed Thoughts
Recruitment
Running a recruitment drive with mass media advertisement is much easier for large organisations with publications on national newspapers, billboards and radio spots. However, for small businesses word of mouth is more the norm. Baba Kioko shares at his local watering hole that a friend of his started a small biashara (business) and is looking for a front office manager and news travels across the grapevine. Although, with digital disruption brought about by the advent of the internet and commercialisation of social media, even small businesses can just as easily advertise for jobs with retweets, story re-shares and hashtags. In this way, anyone can often get the most qualified individuals for the position.
Whether you are a large company or just starting out, actively seeking to diversify one’s workforce to include people with disabilities will require an explicit copy inviting those with particular conditions, such as autism to apply. This will increase the chances of attracting a diverse and disability-inclusive workforce and diversifying where you place work opportunities, such as sites, pages and locations frequented by those living with mental illness such as support groups. Let them know they are wanted within workspaces and are welcome, it goes a long way in assuaging their inner critic and clearing the air of the foul myth that they are incompetent.
Training & Career Progression
The on-boarding of new staff is a challenge in itself, it could be more daunting when dealing with, say a new staff member who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There is a training manual demanding orientation be completed in two days alongside which you have other duties waiting for, yes you guessed it, you! Yet you may find that people with ADHD can barely sit through 15 minutes of Chapter 12’s Where to locate the emergency fire exits resulting in an extended induction/orientation period, a pile-up in your other duties and a building frustration that you may pour out to innocent newbies.
Agility in trainers requires knowing how to combine the application of different learning styles to personalities represented in the team. A proper assessment and ongoing constructive feedback sessions will ensure continuous update to the workers’ already identified strengths and weaknesses. Instead of having Judas with ADHD, merely sitting in the boardroom, an elaborate and experiential immersion may be necessary. Opt to take the entire team on a tour of the grounds pointing out where the exits and fire assembly points. Don’t just tell, show.
Support
Engaging the services of a diversity/disability/inclusion/safeguarding officer with a psychologist or psychiatrist is necessary to create a support infrastructure for your new hire. The professional may be an in-house employee or engaged on a contract basis especially for large organisations that already have medical covers for their employees. Small businesses can mandate that their staff get a National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) medical cover as it suffices without straining your operational costs. Knowing they can speak to a qualified professional in confidence without hearing about their struggles during lunch hour office chit chat cannot be quantified. The impact of creating safe spaces can therefore not be overlooked.
A little thought in the execution of your physical spaces to include natural elements, views, sounds and textures will have extended benefits to your regular worker. Peak hours at work are super busy and may quickly cause mental fatigue. It is the equivalent of having your mind as the equivalent of a computer motherboard getting overheated because it had too many tabs open. Stress levels may also go up. Studies have evidenced exposure to elements of nature as a good destresser.
The physical layout is just as important. Situating someone dealing with paranoia at a desk by the entrance where their back is to the door creates the perfect conditions for a breakdown waiting to happen. First, there is a feeling of insecurity since they cannot easily see ‘potential harm’ to do so more effort is spent — craning their neck frequently each time the door squeaks open which could result in repetitive strain injury. A relocation to a spot with a better prospect will offer a costless remedy to the previous anxiety-inducing placement.
Roles of the Different Actors
The Government
Fairness and security of both employer and employee are safeguarded by the policy environment created by the government. For instance, these policies offer guidelines on how to go about having an inclusive workforce as with the newly launched Kenya Mental Health Action Plan (2021–2025)
The Employer
During the screening process, it is highly likely to realise the chances of enacting affinity bias — leaning towards hiring someone with whom you have similarities — went to the same school, share similar hobbies. Being aware that social background, personal beliefs and values all play a role in your decision making allows for mitigation strategies such as having a diverse panel help shine a light on those potential unconscious biases and give unlikely candidates the shot they certainly deserve.
- Practice discretion — when your recruit opens up about the mental illness they are living with, keep it within the relevant offices to avoid victimisation and harmful behaviour such as negative comments about mental illness, even as a joke. People with lived experiences of mental conditions need compassion, understanding and empathy, not sympathy.
- Perceptiveness and training — some adults have simply been written off with labels. Words like “ huyo anakuanga hivyo” (that’s just how (s)he is) reveal the ignorance of those who may mistake mental conditions for one’s idiosyncratic nature, simply because they and those around them never thought to visit a mental health expert. Having regular training for managers and direct supervisors to sensitise them on symptoms and indicators of different classes of mental illness can help identify workplace accommodations and adaptive devices to support people in various situations that may have gone unnoticed for years.
The Colleagues
Otis Redding said it best in his quote, “Try a little tenderness”. Encourage their contributions, acknowledge their presence, none of that in-group/out-group mentality making them work thrice as hard to feel part of the team.
Seek to understand — inquire nicely. Like Gumaywa, some are open with their experiences, all that is required is an atmosphere allowing for such candid conversation. People can sense genuineness. If there is a hint of insincerity, they may close up faster than a bank at 1500hrs.
The Candidate
be open about what your diagnosis is especially in organisations that are open and protective about a condition like yours. You also have a mandate not to play the victim or manipulate your colleagues’ empathy towards you.
The global community is already embracing a diverse workforce and there are proven merits in support of this shift. Having the likes of internationally renowned author of the Harry Potter franchise fame, JK Rowling, to Ted Turner an American media mogul and founder of CNN who owns a major baseball and basketball team, be open about their mental illness struggles is an indicator we are moving away from stigmatisation.
Conclusion
The pervasive narrative about people living with mental illness is predominantly negative but we see that with a proper support system for them the benefits of a disability-inclusive workforce are numerous. As a result of drawing from a wider pool of experiences and ways of thinking, the company is first more innovative. For instance, the savant syndrome demonstrated by some individuals living with an extreme mental disability has outstanding cognitive abilities solving complex problems the way us regular folk deal with the arithmetics of one plus one minus two.
Secondly, you develop a more empathetic culture in the organisation. Due to the stigma and discrimination they have felt before, individuals living with a mental illness are likely to be kinder. And from experience, the nice teller at the bank will make you forget the endless hours you have waited in the baking hall before serving. Research also shows that certain companies have built successful brands being more humane by attracting clients and partners who hold the same values. Make a killing with kindness *wink wink,
This brings me to the last point, Kaching! Higher revenues. People with disabilities and other special needs would like to contribute positively to the economy and the combination of kindness and innovation makes a financial win-win. The company makes its profit while PWDSN (People with Disabilities and other Special Needs) has the chance at sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their dependents while fulfilling purpose within their communities. Overall, employers stand to gain from an inclusive culture of a very competent workforce traditionally relegated to the sidelines on account of their mental illness. All this can be achieved without increased costs which is a huge concern for employers.
Perseverance after modifying workplace culture to be more inclusive to those with mental illness seems like an uphill task but I come bearing good tidings. The global community is already embracing a diverse workforce and there are proven merits in support of this shift. Having the likes of internationally renowned author of the Harry Potter franchise fame, JK Rowling, to Ted Turner an American media mogul and founder of CNN who owns a major baseball and basketball team, be open about their mental illness struggles is an indicator we are moving away from stigmatisation. In the end, a shift in mindset and action towards inclusivity of PWDSN is all worth it and makes for a better work environment for everyone.
Originally published at http://strokesandprose.wordpress.com on July 27, 2021.
